OKLAHOMA CITY – The Lakers reached the quarter pole in their 2012-13 season with a couple flat tires, a limping new coach and now a largely uncompetitive 114-108 loss Friday night to their supposed fellow contenders, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Without injured Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, the Lakers didn't threaten until an Oklahoma City letdown in the final minutes. The Thunder, which won the Western Conference last season, improved to 16-4 compared to the Lakers' 9-11.

After much preseason hype, the Lakers could win all 62 remaining games on their schedule and not match the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' 72-10 record.

Dwight Howard preached patience after the loss, citing the 82-game season and saying: "This is not anybody's timetable but ours."

The Thunder pulled away after the Lakers stayed in it via early rebounding dominance. Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook had a private party in the first half with 27 points, five assists and no turnovers. Even more so than Kevin Durant, Westbrook can be unstoppable — if his outside shot is dropping, as it was against the Lakers.

"He went crazy on us," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said.

Kobe Bryant and Howard combined to match Westbrook's 27 first-half points, but Durant added 18 points despite taking only eight field-goal attempts. Durant didn't commit a turnover until four minutes into the fourth quarter — when D'Antoni, who had more success moving around the sideline with his reconstructed knee than he did trying Devin Ebanks against Durant, resorted to trying to play without either point guard Chris Duhon or Darius Morris.

With 2:56 left, Metta World Peace got into an altercation with Oklahoma City forward Serge Ibaka after they readied for a rebound. Forearms were raised toward opposing throats, but Durant scored the next bucket for a 107-95 Thunder lead. He finished with 36 points to Westbrook's 33.

It was the Lakers' first trip to Oklahoma City since their season ended last May in a five-game second-round playoff series. The Thunder came in on a six-game winning streak, winning by an average of 18.9 points.

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